HPR4427: Tale of Two (Wireless) Keyboards

Hacker Public Radio

Hi. My name is Moss Bliss, and this is Hacker Public Radio. This is my 3rd HPR solo podcast, and you can also hear me on mintCast and Full Circle Weekly News most weeks. I watch TV via streaming on a Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny. I change streams and services using a wireless keyboard, from my recliner across the room. For a couple years, I was using a Logitech K400r, and it worked pretty well. Good keys, nice touchpad, a couple of extra features. It was kind of flimsy though, with lots of flex and keys popping off from time to time -- not so much of a problem as they popped back on well -- and then the plastic on-off slider just wore out. It had a raised strip on the plastic slider which served as something to grab with a nail, and it just eventually wore down. So I went looking for something perhaps a bit sturdier. What I found was a Rii Model K22. The box had some different numbers in addition to that, and the label on the keyboard also had other numbers, but the best way to find it is to look for the K22. It was a solid, mostly metal, keyboard, so I bought it. No flex to speak of, and the keys are made to not pop off. There are some caveats. The volume up-down and mute buttons are part of the touchpad, not physical buttons, and are not lighted. In a dark room, with a black keyboard and touchpad, it can be easy to hit the wrong area of the touchpad. Also, I have yet to get the scroll feature -- supposedly the right side of the touchpad -- to work properly, but most of the time I can scroll with two fingers on the touchpad. Also, and I have no clue why, it sometimes brings up a menu I've never seen before getting this keyboard. Yes, it's pretty easy to make it go away, but still... Unlike the K400r, the K22 has a rechargeable battery built in, and charges via USB-C. Also, the touchpad is significantly larger than that of the K400r. I have had no problems with touchpad's responsiveness, other than the issues already mentioned. I'm not really very good with touchpads, so perhaps I just haven't learned the features. I paid $18 at Walmart for the K400r, although currently on Amazon it is going for $39.89 with a cheaper model for $19.99. The cheaper model has fewer buttons and a few cutbacks on design features. The K400r has a 4.2 star rating, with 67% 5-star and 16% 4-star. The Amazon AI reports, "Customers find the keyboard functional and easy to use. They appreciate its responsive keys and convenient setup. Many find it a good value for the price, lightweight, and convenient to use from the couch. However, opinions differ on the size and touchpad responsiveness." The Logitech is wifi only, but it does come with the ubiquitous Logitech wifi dongle. The Rii K22 is currently $24.99, minus a 15% coupon as of this writing. It has a 3.9 star rating, with 56% 5-star and 15% 4-star. Amazon's AI reports, "Customers find the keyboard works well on all devices and has a responsive touchpad. They appreciate its compact size and good build quality. However, some customers have reported issues with missing keystrokes and keypad malfunctions. There are mixed opinions on the touchpad, battery lif